PA HOUSE DEMOCRATS: Disaster declaration allows for timely and comprehensive response to public health crisis

HARRISBURG, Jan. 10 -- House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody and state Rep. Ed Gainey (pictured), Democratic co-chairman of the legislative Heroin, Opioid Prevention and Education Caucus, released the following statement today on Gov. Wolf's declaration of a state of emergency regarding the heroin and opioid epidemic in Pennsylvania.

"Pennsylvania's drug-addiction emergency is impacting individuals, families and communities on just as large a scale as any other natural disaster our state has experienced in our lifetime. Our response now must match our response to those crises," Dermody said.

"Republican and Democratic legislators have been instrumental in responding to the heroin and opioid addiction crisis," Gainey said. "Scores of legislators have joined our HOPE Caucus dedicated to leading Pennsylvania from addiction to recovery. The General Assembly worked with the governor to propose and pass new laws to reduce the prescribing and availability of opioids that can lead to addiction, to expand access to treatment and counseling for those trapped by addiction, and to enable the distribution of life-saving medications like naloxone that reverse the effects of heroin and opioid overdoses and save lives.”

"The House Democratic Caucus pledges to continue those efforts and do even more to combat this public health emergency and reduce its devastation on our state," Dermody said.

"In 2018, House Democrats want to focus on a Plan for PA that grows our economy with good jobs, quality schools and policies that put people first. We can't build a strong Pennsylvania if we don't have a foundation of healthy individuals, families and communities. Governor Wolf has been a strong leader in fighting the heroin, fentanyl and opioid crisis that threatens our state. As governor, he is uniquely armed with the flexibility and resources to respond in a timely and comprehensive manner to the crisis. We welcome the disaster declaration and the initiatives his administration announced today. We will continue working with the governor to advance and augment those initiatives whenever and however we can."